Digital Commons Network^™

Access To Higher Education For Black Men: A Narrative Perspective, Kayla R. Branch

Masters Theses

A college degree is important because it provides opportunities for graduates to become educated in a field of study that they can start a career in. There is a large underrepresentation of Black male students in higher education. This lack of representation reflects the lack of professional Black men in our society and limits the number of Black role models these men have can look up tot. The purpose of the qualitative study is to identify what influences Black men to attend college and what challenges they may face getting admitted to college. It also examined how these men transition …

Riemannian Reading: Using Manifolds To Calculate And Unfold Narrative, Heather Lamb

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the space where readers and texts interact. By applying non-Euclidean geometry to the modern subgenre of science fiction known as steampunk, we can see that narratives have no intrinsic geometry. Instead, what we can understand is that readers unflatten inherently flat narratives by applying their own metric of understanding to a narrative. Steampunk acts a primer to considering this mathematical process by explicitly flattening its settings and characters, as well as the historical accounts founding the narrative. Mark Hodder's novel, The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack, offers two characters that unsuccessfully …

The Effects Of Belief, Gender, And Setting On A Psi Task, Alan Jeffrey Hinman

Masters Theses

The current study was designed to explore how the variables of belief, gender, and experimenter effects regarding setting influence participants' results on a psi task. Small groups of research assistants and participants acted as senders and attempted to telepathically transmit one of four target locations to individual receivers. Sender and receiver groups were divided by gender, and answered a question on a seven-point scale regarding their belief in the existence of mental telepathy. One run of 16 trials was completed by 53 receivers over six data collection sessions, utilizing a new website designed for the task. It was hypothesized that …

Examining Elementary Teachers' Implementation Of Culturally Responsive Teaching, Katherine A. Silva

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research is to examine if elementary teachers in Central Illinois are implementing culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices, since the United States and Central Illinois are becoming more diverse. Central Illinois is characterized by primarily White, rural communities and schools. Thus, some teachers may not have the theoretical or practical skills to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. A quantitative study utilizing a survey-questionnaire method was designed to examine if kindergarten through fifth grade teachers are implementing CRT in Central Illinois. The researcher examined which CRT practices teachers are doing the most and …

Variation In Cranial Morphology Of Polymorphic Populations Of The Eastern Red-Backed Salamander, Plethodon Cinereus, Marissa Ganzfried

Masters Theses

Differences in cranial morphology among species of plethodontid salamanders have been linked to variations in diet and behavior. Individuals that consume smaller prey have larger jaw to posterior-cranium ratios. Elongation and expansion of the jaw, coupled with expansion of the posterior of the cranium (defined as robustness) are positively associated with individuals that exhibit increased levels of aggression. The bulk of previous research has focused on the effects of interspecific competition on cranial morphology; however, polymorphic populations of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus, represent a unique opportunity to examine the role of cranial morphology in ecological divergence among individuals …

The Transcriptome Response Of The White-Rot Fungus Phanerochaete Chrysosporium To Maple And Miscanthus, Mashael Rashed Alaradi

Masters Theses

Lignocellulosic biomass is a valuable feedstock for the production of liquid biofuels. However, liquid biofuel production from lignocellulose is economically challenging due to the difficulties associated with separating the cellulosic sugars from lignin. In addition, the current thermochemical methods to deconstruct lignocellulose typically involve hazardous chemicals that can negatively impact the environment. Recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of white-rot fungi as alternative pretreatment agents that can lower the costs of lignocellulose deconstruction and reduce negative impacts on the environment. However, understanding of the biochemical mechanisms of lignocellulose breakdown used by these fungi is limited, particularly with respect to the …

Behavior Of Different Sizes Of Strontium Titanate Substrates In Electrochemical Modifications, Shuxin Luo

Masters Theses

In our previous atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of 5 mm x 5 mm single crystal SrTiO₃ (STO(100)) substrates, rutile TiO₂ crystals were found on the substrates surfaces after electrochemical modification. These crystals were found mainly in the area of contact between the substrate and the gold-coated alligator clip that was not supposed to be immersed into the electrolyte and that served as a connection between the STO working electrode and the potentiostat circuit. The size and density of the crystals were found to depend on electrochemical potential, its polarity, the length of modifying time, and the total …

Functionalized Bodipy Dyes For Near-Infrared Emission Of Lanthanide Complexes, Rukshani Wickrama Arachchi

Masters Theses

For many decades, fluorophores have been used to investigate natural systems, but autofluorescence and photobleaching diminish the detection capacity. Recently, BODIPY based lanthanide complexes have been synthesized and their photophysical properties have been investigated. These complexes exhibit higher emission efficiencies at NIR region with longer NIR lifetimes upon exciting at longer wavelength.

In this study, two BODIPY based lanthanide complexes were synthesized and their photophysical properties were evaluated. BODIPY based ligands were synthesized with phenanthroline as the ligand binding group. These ligands exhibit strong absorption at 527 nm and 532 nm, fluorescence at 540 nm and 548 nm with 0.55 …

Structural Change And Productivity Growth In Developing Countries, Ahmed Salim Nuhu

Masters Theses

The dual-economy model predicts that holding productivity constant, labor reallocation from less to more productive sectors, also known as 'structural change' results in improvement in economy-wide productivity. The objective of this thesis is to test the empirical predictions of this model using sectoral-level data from twenty-eight developing countries. Using the shift-share growth decomposition approach, we find regional growth-enhancing effects of structural change in Asia, Latin America and North Africa from, 1980 to 2000 and growth-reducing effects in Sub-Saharan Africa over the same period. However, as intersectoral productivity gaps disappeared after 2000, technological progress led the growth process in much of …

Resilience And Thriving In Homeless College Students, Cayla C. Maurer

Masters Theses

Homeless college students face many obstacles in higher education. These students are the invisible population on campuses that are sometimes forgotten. Despite facing many challenges and barriers, these students continue to pursue a degree of higher education. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences and obstacles homeless college students face while they word toward a degree. Understanding how successful homeless college students overcome barriers and utilize resources will provide information that may change the fate of future homeless college students. A phenomenological approach was utilized to explore the qualities and characterizes that allow homeless college students to …

Bodipy-Based Red Sensitizers For Near-Infrared Emission Of Lanthanide Complexes, Priyangika Prasadini Senevirathne

Masters Theses

During the past 20 years there has been a remarkable growth in the use of the fluorescence technique in biological studies. Fluorescence and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy are considered primary research tools in the field of biochemistry. Currently, fluorescence spectroscopy is a dominant methodology and used widely in biotechnology and medical diagnosis process. One impediment in using fluorescent probes is the fluorescence of biological substrates and fluorescence of diagnostic probes are significantly overlapped, and it decreases the detection sensitivity. Also, commercially available probes require UV or near-UV light excitation, causing severe degradation of biological substrates. Near-infrared emitting lanthanide complexes can overcome …

The North American River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) On The Department Of Energy's Savannah River Site, Emily B. Mccallen

Masters Theses

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) faces a legacy of radionuclide and metal contamination from industrial processes that occurred within the site. The risks posed to ecosystems on the site from contaminants are quantified using the ecological risk assessment process, which often uses the health of a particular species as an ecological endpoint. Northern river otters (Lontra canadensis) are appropriate receptors for studying the effects of long-term, low-level contamination because they are long-lived, higher trophic level organisms likely to accumulate high levels of pollutants. However, little information about river otters on the SRS is known; …

Molecular Recognition Profiles Of Molecular Cocrystals, Ian C. Tinsley

Masters Theses

The manner in which molecules recognize each other holds critical importance to nearly every area of science. This significance stems from the key underpinning of molecular assembly to our most basic understanding of chemical processes. Whether these interactions relate to small-molecule catalytic transformations or complex physiological processes, the structural features responsible for molecular association play into the well-known adage that form follows function where material property arises from the collective structural features of the molecular components. Because the form of chemical systems is derived from a complex blend of covalent and non-bonded contacts, codifying each contributor has become essential for …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Cu(Ii)-Cu(I) Mixed Valence Complexes, Hansani T. Lekam Wasam Liyanage

Masters Theses

Our study was focused on synthesis and characterization of new family of metal complexes that mimic the active site of copper containing enzymes. Our approach focused on preparing a series of metalloligands which vary systematically in structure and use them in combination with additional metallic centers to synthesize our desired complexes.

We synthesized a main ligand, which is named as HL^Q 2Pz, which contain a quinoline body, one amide bond and two pyrazolyl rings. We synthesized a copper complex by deprotonating HL^Q 2Pz using KOH. The ligand coordinated to the copper(II) center through its quinoline nitrogen, two of …

Hydrogeochemical Controls On Reactive And Nonreactive Solute Transport In Heterogenous Porous Media, Mahta Gholizadeh Ansari

Masters Theses

"This work examines how physical and chemical heterogeneity can affect reactive and non-reactive transport in porous media. The effect of heterogeneity of the porous media is investigated both on dissolution rate of magnesite and attenuation time of nonreactive contaminants in non-reactive media. Various spatial distribution were created using statistical parameters in PETREL.A total of 6793 transport modeling simulations were run using CrunchFlow. Lasso regression was used to select most significant features and those features are then used in linear regression and deep learning models.

The magnesite dissolution simulations were performed under different permeability ratios (magnesite /sand permeability) and inlet pH. …

Multiple Security Domain Model Of A Vehicle In An Automated Vehicle System, Uday Ganesh Kanteti

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on the security of automated vehicle platoons. Specifically, it examines the vulnerabilities that occur via disruptions of the information flows among the different types of sensors, the communications network and the control unit in each vehicle of a platoon. Multiple security domain nondeducibility is employed to determine whether the system can detect attacks. The information flows among the various domains provide insights into the vulnerabilities that exist in the system by showing if an attacker’s actions cannot be deduced. If nondeducibility is found to be true, then an attacker can create an undetectable attack. Defeating nondeducibility requires …

Overview Of Co₂ Leakage Problems And Sealants For Co₂ Leakage Remediation, Shudai Peng

Masters Theses

"Excessive Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emission has become a serious issue and caused lots of environmental problems. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) program has been developed to reduce the CO₂ content in the atmosphere. CO₂ storage has been targeted mainly on depleted oil or gas reservoirs and deep saline aquifers. However, leakage could occur through wellbores, cap rocks, formation faults, and fractures during and after CO₂ injection. To minimize the risk, different types of sealants have been investigated to prevent CO₂ leaks. The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive review of the materials which could be used as …

A Bounded Actor-Critic Algorithm For Reinforcement Learning, Ryan Jacob Lawhead

Masters Theses

"This thesis presents a new actor-critic algorithm from the domain of reinforcement learning to solve Markov and semi-Markov decision processes (or problems) in the field of airline revenue management (ARM). The ARM problem is one of control optimization in which a decision-maker must accept or reject a customer based on a requested fare. This thesis focuses on the so-called single-leg version of the ARM problem, which can be cast as a semi-Markov decision process (SMDP). Large-scale Markov decision processes (MDPs) and SMDPs suffer from the curses of dimensionality and modeling, making it difficult to create the transition probability matrices (TPMs) …

Design And Modeling Of An Aluminum Smelting Process To Analyze Aluminum Smelter And Identify The Alternative Uses Of Nuclear Power Small Modular Reactor, Rajesh Ramkrushna Patharabe

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on design and analysis of an Aluminum Smelting process using computer simulation which performs a dynamic state computation. The objective is to develop a Dynamic Simulation Model of an Aluminum Smelter using Mimic Simulator to analyze the dynamic behavior of an Aluminum Smelter to evaluate strategies for alternative design or uses of Nuclear Power Small Modular Reactor to improve the efficiency of the process and to reduce the heat losses.

Increasing energy needs, decrease of the availability of cheap electricity and the need to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions are the biggest hurdles for running Aluminum smelters …

Biodegradable Capacitive Pressure Sensor Toward Temporary Implants For Intervertebral Pressure Monitoring, Devdatt Chattopadhyay

Masters Theses

"The objective of this thesis is to demonstrate a new class of implantable biomedical device, based on biodegradable borate glass as the substrate material that can be potentially used to monitor the intervertebral pressure in the lumbar region of the human body. Two major types of implantable biomedical devices include the permanent prosthetic devices such as pacemakers and the temporary implants for short-term intervention and monitoring. Unless surgically removed after their intended operation, the temporary implants are left inside the body causing electromagnetic issues, latent complications and various biomechanical safety concerns. In order to address this issue, a new device …

In Situ Ph Determination Based On The Nmr Analysis Of ¹H-Nmr Signal Intensities And ¹⁹F-Nmr Chemical Shifts, Ming Huang

Masters Theses

"The pH of an NMR sample can be measured directly by NMR experiments of signal intensities, chemical shifts, or relaxation time constants that depend on the pH. The ¹H NMR peak intensities of the pH indicator phenolphthalein change as it changes from the OH-depleted form to the OH-rich form in the range of pH = 11.1 to 12.7. Because this range is rather small, another NMR technique was utilized based on ¹⁹F chemical shifts. The shift of F^- in an aqueous solution of NaF changes in the alkaline range between pH = 11.0 and 14.0 and even …

Predicting The Impact Of Data Corruption On The Operation Of Cyber-Physical Systems, Erik David Burgdorf

Masters Theses

"Cyber-physical systems, where computing and communication are used to fortify and streamline the operation of a physical infrastructure, now comprise the foundation of much of modern critical infrastructure. These systems are typically large in scale and highly interconnected, and span application domains from power and water distribution to autonomous vehicle control and collaborative robotics. Intelligent decision support in these systems is heavily reliant on the availability of sufficient and sufficiently correct data. Failure or malfunction of these systems can have devastating consequences in terms of public safety, financial losses, or both.

The research described in this thesis aims to predict …

Family-Based Association Studies Of Autism In Boys Via Facial-Feature Clusters, Luke Andrew Settles

Masters Theses

"Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a set of developmental disorders with varied attributes. Due to its substantial heterogeneity in terms of behavioral and clinical phenotypes, it is challenging to discern the genetic biomarkers behind ASD, even though the disease is known to be genetic in nature. This serves as a motivation to detect relationships between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a causal autism disease susceptibility locus (DSL) within more homogeneous subgroups. Recently, clinically meaningful subclassifications of ASD have been discovered utilizing facial features of prepubescent boys. Therefore, through the employment of data from 44 prepubertal Caucasian boys with ASD …

Liquid Pulsed Plasma Thruster Plasma Plume Investigation And Mr-Sat Cold Gas Propulsion System Performance Analysis, Jeremiah Daniel Hanna

Masters Theses

"The plasma plume produced by a liquid pulsed plasma thruster is investigated using a Langmuir triple probe and a nude Faraday probe. The Langmuir triple probe failed to produce results which are suspected caused by the presence of ionic liquid in the plume resulting in shorting of the probe. The nude Faraday probe is able to record the ion current density which revealed a high level of inconsistency in the plasma plume. Ion current density recorded by the nude Faraday probe had a relative standard deviation of upwards of 100% of the mean value. Controlling the amount of propellant used …

Classification Of Basal Cell Carcinoma Using Telangiectatic Vessels And Machine Learning, Hemanth Yadav Aradhyula

Masters Theses

“Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is one of the most common types of skin cancer in the United States. Early detection of BCC by noninvasive techniques can decrease delay in treatment and save cost. A recent study estimated that 5.4 million cases of non-melanocytic skin cancer (NMSC) occur each year in the US. BCC accounts for 50% of NMSC cases. Telangiectasia, which appears in most BCCs is an important feature for identification of BCC for an automatic diagnostic system. In this thesis, three methods for detection of telangiectasia present in dermoscopy lesion image (DI) were proposed. Detected telangiectasia in DI was …

A Study Of The Potential Applications Of Am241, And Determining The Feasibility Of Using Gamma Spectroscopy For Future Physical Validation, Eric A. Feissle

Masters Theses

“Am241 is typically produced via Pu241 decay in a uranium fueled reactor. Presence of Am241 can be used as the age estimation tool for spent fuel, which is a focus of this thesis along with the interest of the measurement and the ratio of production rates of Am241’s activation products; Americium-242 and its first excited state of Americium-242m. MCNP models of the core and BEGe 3825 detector were built. These models were compared with established and physical measurements of gamma/x-ray standards that were available at the reactor. Thermal fluxes at 200 kW for potential foils centered in the source holder …

Assessment Of Rockfall Rollout Risk Along Varying Slope Geometries Using The Rocfall And Crsp Software, Mariam S. Al E'Bayat

Masters Theses

"Most routes in mountainous areas suffer from rock falling, rolling and bouncing risk. There are many computer programs concerned with simulating the rockfall problem, and whereas they have the same purpose, they however differ in the input data that's needed to simulate the problem, and they also differ in the way of processing and kind of output.

This study used Rocfall® and the Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program (CRSP®) to simulate sixty-three models of varying slope geometry, where only the slope geometry is changed with the same material properties for both the slope and the rocks.

Both programs were fast and …

Deformation Processes At The Leading Edge Of The Sevier Fold And Thrust Belt, Southwest Utah, William Joseph Michael Chandonia

Masters Theses

"Deformation processes leading to formation and abandonment of 'triangle zones' along the leading edge of the Sevier fold and thrust belt are investigated near Kanarraville, Utah through construction of a detailed geologic map and cross-section along Spring Creek. Here the eastern limb of the Kanarra fold, a Sevier structure, is well exposed along the Hurricane Cliffs due to uplift and erosion of the footwall of the Hurricane Fault. The east-verging Kanarra fold changes from upright to overturned within Spring Creek. Within the fold limb, parasitic folds, minor thrust faults, and duplex structures result in local tectonic overthickening of units and …

Structural And U-Pb Detrital Zircon Geochronologic Constraints On The Origin Of The Condrey Mountain Schist, California - Oregon, Joseph Reid Coons

Masters Theses

"The Condrey Mountain Schist (CMS) of the Klamath Mountains (northern California and southern Oregon) represent low grade oceanic and terrigenous sediments thrust beneath higher grade ophiolitic rocks of the Rattlesnake Creek Terrane (RCT). This study presents new U-Pb detrital zircon dates from the CMS, and from the possibly correlative basin rocks of the Galice Formation and accretionary rocks of the South Fork Mountain Schist. The Galice Formation yields a maximum depositional age of ca. 152 Ma with prominent date distributions of ca. 150-200 Ma (39% of analyzed grains), 200-600 Ma (1%), 600 - 1000 Ma (2%), and 1000-3200 Ma (58%). …

Cyber-Physical Security Of A Chemical Plant, Prakash Rao Dunaka

Masters Theses

"The increasing number of cyber attacks on industries demands immediate attention for providing more secure mechanisms to safeguard industries and minimize risks. A supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system employing the distributed networks of sensors and actuators that interact with the physical environment is vulnerable to attacks that target the interface between the cyber and physical subsystems. These cyber attacks are typically malicious actions that cause undesired results in the cyber physical world, for example, the Stuxnet attack that targeted Iran's nuclear centrifuges. An attack that hijacks the sensors in an attempt to provide false readings to the controller …